I wanted to reply to his question with something cynical and snarky, but then I thought twice about it… And as a result, here is my answer:

I never would become a Lebanese minister, let alone have anything to do with Lebanese politics.

Why? Simple. Because the first requirements to being elected are corruption and dishonesty.

Yes, how naive of me… Who wouldn’t want to steal and lie for a living?

I must apologize, but I just can’t promise people 24 hours of electricity and once I’m elected, give them zero.
I can’t promise people good telecommunication services, and once I’m elected, give them nothing in return.
I can’t promise people security in their own houses, and once I’m elected, only worry about the security of my newly bought villa in some high-class suburbia and forget all about the people who got me there in the first place.

Sorry, it’s all about principles, and apparently I do not have the required ones!

Ok, done with the sarcasm, moving on.

We all have seen politicians who change their minds on a whim, so suddenly and radically, you would ask yourself what kind of bug bit them! But, after all, it’s the Lebanese specialty…

Wake up, politicians! It’s all archived. It’s all on YouTube. When you lie and change your mind, you are very easily caught. Eventually, the truth always comes out!
But you do not care, do you… If you did, you wouldn’t lie to our faces in the first place, you wouldn’t dare to buy our votes with some small favor, hell, you wouldn’t even show your faces on TV unless you are apologizing… Then again, you do it because you can, because nobody is indicting you, because the Lebanese people have a very short-term memory! Well yes, haven’t you heard? A favor or a couple of hundred dollars can solve absolutely anything in Lebanon!

What a degrading truth. How shameful, how degenerate.

When you elect someone who doesn’t care at all about Lebanon, it means that you do not either.

So now, I am addressing you, the Lebanese people. If you haven’t traveled in your life, I wouldn’t blame you so much, even though there is Internet now and you do not need to get on a plane to see the world.
But if you have traveled, shame on you. Wouldn’t you like it if Lebanon were a country with good standards of living, such as any country you have been to? Good electricity, good services, good roads, a good and uncorrupted judiciary system, a good medical system, good urbanism, buildings that do not fall on our heads and no unnecessary censorship…? Truly, what do you say to that? It is surely not a utopia, because once, Lebanon was a country you could be proud of! That is before the civil war, that infamous war when every principle was shattered to pieces along with our families and homes… Honestly, are my demands too much to ask for?

So please, fellow citizens, stop electing people who are not worthy of your votes, they are lying to us and they are driving the country and its people to chaos and depravity. They are stealing your money and giving you less than nothing in return. They are responsible for the death of innocent people because of their lack of care. They are running away from their responsibilities and blaming the next person in line…

Enough, I say.

We want politicians who have the principles of those who gave us our independence. We want politicians who truly love Lebanon and who will work on improving it, as if their lives depended on it. We want real men and women on these seats, who abide by their words and whose actions are coherent with their speeches, not some excuse of a man/woman who’s in it for the money and the power. We do not want puppets whose strings are being manipulated by foreign heads of states. We want true Lebanese up there, to the core. Nothing else matters, not their acquaintances and family members in the government, not their religion, not their gender or sexuality… Nothing matters more than their sense of nationalism, their belief that Lebanon can be better than how it is today, and their actions towards improving it continuously.

So vote for honesty, vote for your right to a better life, vote for your right to Life, vote for the Lebanon we all dream of, vote for a country you can be proud of.
Where would you go at the end of the day if you don’t have a home? Lebanon is your home, don’t destroy it.

Signed: A concerned Lebanese.

PS: Mr Sehnaoui, since you are so keen on hearing my honest opinion, here is a shorter answer for you: I would instate an autocracy, have you all removed and hire Justin Bieber as my advisor. 🙂

* the word ‘majority’ is for political correctness issues. ** can apply to the the majority* of our previous politicians.